Doughnut Plant + Magnolia Banana Pudding
I'm not above admitting that my New York to-do list should probably be called my "to-eat" list for how many bakeries, coffee shops and restaurants I have on it. High on my list was Doughnut Plant, and when I found myself a few blocks away from their Chelsea location on Saturday, I decided that it was time to try it out. Never mind the fact that I had just eaten brunch a few hours before — I'm not one to let a silly thing like a full belly get in the way of my dessert eating. Plus, as I've mentioned before, I have a separate dessert stomach and it wanted fancy donuts, so fancy donuts I got.
I realize that they spell donut, "doughnut", but they're not the boss of me, so I'll be referring to them as "donuts", thank you very much.
Anyway, I ordered two — cinnamon + sugar and black-out cake — because I couldn't really decide on just one. They have a ton of really delicious-sounding flavors and I'm not really sure why I picked those two, but when I went to order that's just what I got. The place is tiny, but they have an entire wall covered in donut pillows which is pretty adorable. There are a few tables, but I took mine to go and walked a few blocks to Madison Square Park to see what $5.50 in donuts tasted like.
Honestly, I was a bit disappointed. I'm not sure what I was expecting, although I was told (and have read) about how amazing the donuts are, and mine just... weren't. They weren't bad, certainly, but the black-out cake had dry, sand-like crumbs on top and the cinnamon + sugar tasted a bit stale and burnt. I'm not exactly a donut connoisseur, but having had my first hot-off-the-conveyor Krispy Kreme this year, I can say DP's didn't stack up. I ate half of each one and finished them the next morning because, meh or not, I wasn't about to let a donut go to waste.
I'd like to go back and try again, at least once, to see if I'm missing something. Maybe they were having an off-day or I just ordered the wrong ones. Is there a specific one I should try? I'm thinking creme brulee or maybe peanut butter and banana cream? Speaking of bananas...
In positive dessert news, I finally tried Magnolia Bakery's banana pudding, and it is a-may-zing. I've been going to Magnolia for almost ten years (before it was cool — and then not cool), and I still think their cupcakes are the best — although Crumbs, Baked by Melissa and Billy's are on my list to try. I've always seen people go crazy over the little tubs of banana pudding and I decided to try it on Monday. It's so incredibly rich and sweet that I felt like throwing up after three spoonfuls, but I promise that's a positive thing.
A little definitely goes a long way — save yourself a dollar and a lot of queasiness by ordering the small tub. The pudding redeemed Magnolia after I had a less-than-thrilling red velvet cupcake the last time I went. I'll definitely be sticking to the original vanilla-vanilla combo from now on, that is when I'm not in the mood for another deliciously sickening (in a good way!) tub o'pudding.
Side note: I may be the only person capable of walking the entire island of Manhattan and living in a 5th-floor walk-up — while managing to actually gain weight. At least I have goals, right?
